Wizard Wars
by KatieWitnick
Summary: What if a muggle found out about wizards and decided to take action against them? Rated PG for being dark. Please R/R!
1. Wizard Wars- Prolouge

Prologue:  
  
Wizards were all over the world and most normal people like us had no idea about them. They were right under our noses and yet we could not smell them. It made my wife and I crazy. Finally, the last time our nephew, one of them left, he yelled at us for being what we are. We can't help it, we hate abnormalities. People like us should not have to live in the dark about them. Why, I even remember my nephew telling me about a godfather he has that is charged with murder and a convict. People like that with those capabilities should be persecuted, for the good of the world. My wife, my son (he is twenty) and I decided to take action. We visited churches, town meetings and published ads in newspapers in seven different countries (England, America, Spain, France, China, Portugal and Scotland). We told them a meeting would be held on our street, Privet Drive, in two weeks to discuss these people and their abnormality and how we would handle them.   
When the date came, we discussed the abnormal. At least one hundred people from each of the countries we published ads in came. Everyone came to the same conclusion, these people must be wiped out. The people left, preaching our cause. A scientist had asked me how we distinguish those people from normal ones like ourselves. I was uncertain. The scientist resolved he would make something so we would be able to distinguish them from us. After three months research he was able to create a powder that would make a mark on the left upper thigh of a witch/wizard. One our follower was a pilot for a plane that skydivers jump off of. Using his plane we managed to spread this powder all over England. Other countries used their own methods to spread the formula. More and more people found out about our mission.   
Meetings were held and eventually leaders of these groups from the countries all met and we discussed how to get rid of these people. Armies were built up, we raised money and bought weapons both legally and illegally. We would go to any measure to get these people. Eventually we began our persecution. Even I was dubious as to who would win this battle, unnatural powers against mechanical devices. Who could predict the result? Apparently the gun is quicker than the wand. We killed scores and scores of these people. Nobody could stop us, we were invincible. We called ourselves the Abattres. We annihilated their race, the worthless, good-for-nothing people they are. The war between the races is over, but I do believe that there are many still out there. Our secret police, with our son as the commander, still persecute them and make sure they are no longer. I do wonder at times if my nephew was killed, we kept no records of the dead, only on our side. I suppose he is dead, how could he possibly escape? One thing that concerns me and anyone else who knows is that we never found my nephew's school, Hogwarts I believe the name was.   



	2. Chapter 01-

Chapter One: Shadows  
It was one year since the end of the Great Wizard Wars. In the light of the moon, a woman in a red dress, red shoes and trench coat stood in a place, once familiar to her, which lay in despair. Looking at the destruction gave her the chills and she involuntarily pulled her long trench coat tighter around her. A groan behind her made her scream, she fingers lingered on the knife in her pocket and she turned to see what behind her was making the noise.   
"Harry is that you?" she asked upon seeing his face.  
"Depends on who's asking" he said. She noticed he had no glasses on, he probably couldn't see her  
"Harry, its me"   
"Not-not Hermione?" he stumbled  
"Yes, oh Harry! I knew it was you!" she exclaimed falling to the ground and throwing her arms around him. He held his childhood friend tightly, like he never wanted to let go, but gently, as if she might break.   
"I-I thought I'd never see you again" she said, silent tears streaming down her face.   
"Same here, but can we catch up later? There's more pressing issues right now, my leg, I think its broken" she looked down, a lamp post lay across his lap, his left femur defiantly broken and his right possibly broken.   
"Oh Harry! What are we going to do?! St. Mungo's was destroyed and we can't go to a muggle hospital, they'll see the mark!!" she exclaimed, panicking, like she had when they were younger.   
"You don't know any healing magic then?" he asked, sounding disappointed  
"I used to, but that was so many years ago. I haven't done any magic in ages" she said regretfully, feeling a pang in her stomach, she missed magic and Hogwarts almost as much as she'd missed Harry and Ron.   
"You know where we have to go then, don't you? Its where I was headed before I took a little detour and ended up here" she was confused, where was it safe for wizards to go nowadays? She thought hard, and got no results  
"Where were you going Harry? Where is it safe?" she asked, giving up  
and regretfully thinking he'd say nowhere.   
"Hogwarts, Hermione, Hogwarts" Harry told her and she gave him a quizzical look.  
"Surely it was destroyed too"   
"Hermione, they never found Hogwarts, I would have figured you knew that" She blinked at him. It wasn't possible, was it? Her heart leapt at the thought of going back to her old school, wondering what was there for her. Whatever it was, it had to be better than living in secret.  
"How can we get there?" she asked, they had always taken the train, which seemed to be the only way to get there, other than by flying car or broomstick, neither of which they had.  
"Here, read this" he tossed her a letter. Hands shaking, she unfolded it  
  
Dear Harry,  
We are writing to inform you that it is safe enough now for you to come out of hiding and join us here at Hogwarts. The school was not destroyed in the war, as the muggles can not see it. It is highly suggested that you come, as you well know that the Abattre is still persecuting our kind. The Hogwarts Express will do one run at nine o'clock on the ninth of October. I hope to see you soon.   
Sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
"When did you get this? How did you get this?" Hermione asked in a whisper, hands still shaking.  
"Last night, by owl, please Hermione, we have a half hour to get to Platform 9 and ¾, it will take awhile as I can't walk to well, we can talk on the train. When we get to Hogwarts things will get better for us, I promise" he said giving her a small smile.   
"They can't get worse, can they?" she returned the weak smile as a tear ran slowly down her cheek. Harry wiped away her tear.   
"Those are famous last words, Hermione"   
"I know, come on Harry, lets go, I think I can carry you if I have to"   
"That's my girl" he said, trying to help her lift the post off his lap. Once the post was off she examined his legs again. His left leg was defiantly broken. She could see the bone. His right leg seemed to be all right, though she thought he may have fractured something.   
" Ok, here's what we'll do. You put you're left arm around me, and try to limp on your right leg. Just like that Harry….good job…" she told him as they walked onto the London streets.   
"Is there anyway I can help you miss?" asked a man with blonde hair, leaning on his car and smoking.   
"No, no, that's quite all right, thank you though" she answered quickly. She turned away from the man quickly, making Harry yelp. The man ran to get in front of them.  
"I insist, let me drive you to where you need to go" he said staring into her eyes.   
"Sir, we really must be getting on our way, we have a very important engagement that we mustn't be late for, goodbye!"   
"I know who you are," he said taping his upper left thigh, "please, I'm going to the same place you are, let me help" he said exasperated. Hermione looked at Harry, who nodded.   
"All right, let's go" she said reluctantly. The man helped Hermione get Harry into the back seat of his car. She then sat down in the front with the mysterious man.   
"How do you know me?" she asked suspiciously  
"I'm kind of hurt you don't recognize me, we went to school together for seven years"   
"I'm sorry, but, I still just don't know.." she trailed off, feeling truly awful at not knowing who he was.  
"Hermione, its Seamus Finnigan" said a strained voice from the back seat.   
"Is he right?" she asked  
"Yep"   
"Oh, Seamus! Its truly wonderful to see you again!" she exclaimed  
"I'm glad to see you two again as well, I really wasn't sure who'd I be running into after, well, you know" he said bowing his head.  
"I know what you mean. I thought I'd never see Harry or anyone else from our world again" her voice was far away, her mind was obviously drifting to another time and place.   
"We're here. We've got five minutes, lets go" Seamus got out of the car and easily lifted Harry. They walked inconspicuously through the barrier and sat down on the train with two minutes to spare.   
"Seamus, not that I don't appreciate all that you've done for us, its just, could you please-"  
"Please leave you and Harry alone? No problem, I understand that you guys want to catch up on things, I'll talk to you later" Seamus finished for her, then bent down and gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek, which she returned. He then, left went to the next train car down, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.   
"Harry, I don't even know where to begin, asking you about what's happened to you since we last met, so why don't you just tell me" she said.  
"Well, it sort of started before we last met, after we left Hogwarts when we finished our seventh year. You know, I went back to the Dursley's one last time. I don't know what made me do it, there was nothing there for me. When Dudley answered the door, I just started yelling. When I finished I just apparated to the ministry building, I had an appointment to meet with Cornelius Fudge. He offered me several positions in the ministry. I decided on a job with the Department of Wizard Protection. After I had learned more about the job and things I has to do for it, and then began the actual I realized I hadn't spoken with you or Ron in nearly two years. Even then we noticed some strange muggle activities against wizards. I was busy with my job, you were busy at the Department of Experimental Charms and I didn't know where Ron was, he hadn't contacted me to let me know. So I owled you and asked you to meet me that Saturday at Three Broomsticks. When Hedwig got back I wrote a letter to Ron, asking him to meet us there on Saturday too.   
Well, Saturday came around and we met. I told you about what I was doing and you told me what you were doing. I think I even warned you then that I was nervous that something was going to happen between the muggles and the wizards. Eventually Ron showed up, he was all cut and bruised. He wouldn't tell us what had happened or anything about his job, only that he had one. He stayed for about ten minutes, saying that we would talk later. But I haven't heard from him since. We stayed for an hour at Three Broomsticks and then did some shopping. Then we left to our separate homes, and that was the last time we met, until now. During the war, I spent most of my time in Diagon Alley, until it was destroyed, as you saw earlier this night. After that I still tried to do my job as a protector of wizards, though it didn't do us very much good. After the war, I went back to the ministry building, which is still intact but deserted. I attained a list of all those in the ministry and owled every last one of them. You know how many replies I got? Three. You didn't even owl me back, Hermione."  
"But I never even received one! You know I'd be at your side in a second if you ever needed me!" Hermione exclaimed  
"That's what I figured out later, but then, I was dubious. I thought you either didn't care about me anymore or you were dead. After all that, I still tried to rebuild the ministry. I got an owl from a much older and wiser wizard than I that the ministry couldn't be rebuilt until the post-war chaos and fears were over and that would take a long time. I've spent most of my time since then trying to find others of our kind and make a list of who is still alive. Last night I got an owl saying that the Hogwarts Express would make one run to Hogwarts at nine o'clock tonight. So, this morning I visited the ruins of Diagon Alley, just to have one more look. I tripped and kicked the bottom of the lamp post, it fell on top of me. I sat around for a few hours like that before you came along and helped me. You have no idea how happy I was to see you. Which brings us to now" he said concluding his side of the story. Hermione didn't know what to say. They sat in silence, looking at each other for a few minutes.   
"I wish I was as brave as you were during the war" Hermione said quietly   
"I'm sure you were"   
"I wasn't. I spent most of it hiding with my parents, pretending to be a muggle. I realized I couldn't put them in that sort of danger anymore and went to France to hide at Beauxbatons, it was destroyed near the end of the war. After it was destroyed, I came back to England to try and find my parents. The Abattre found out they had been hiding me. You know what they did Harry? They killed my parents. They killed them because they were trying to protect me. I hid at many different places until the end of the war and for a long time after the war ended. All I did during that time was hide and cry. I felt so lost and was in so much pain. I decided to go to a place where I was once so happy and die. I decided on Diagon Alley, that's why I was there tonight Harry, I was going to kill myself. I was so sick of it, living in the shadows of the day and the darkness of the night, as a ghost of the person I once was" she said, starting to cry again.   
"You wouldn't have done it" Harry stated.  
"Done what?" she asked, although she knew the answer  
"Killed yourself. I know you, and you're stronger than that" he said patting her hand. She too, was not sure if she could have killed herself. The idea was tempting at the time.   
The train slowed to a stop outside of Hogwarts. Hermione helped Harry stand up. They both wondered if this place would bring happy times as it once had. 


	3. Chapter 02- Brick by Brick

Chapter Two: Brick by Brick   
  
"Get him to the hospital wing!"   
"Nice to see you too Professor McGonagall.."   
"Oh, Hermione dear, you know I'm delighted to see you again but, he needs to be healed!"   
Hermione helped Harry hobble up to the hospital wing and sat with him as Madam Pomfrey healed him. Although the woman was very lucky to still be alive, she looked worse for the wear, as if life had been drained from her and yet she still breathed and moved as a mortal person. Worry lines were all over her face and she looked like she might break down and cry at any moment.   
"Harry, you're all done, I'd like to keep you here for the night, but there is a meeting just about to start in the great hall. I suggest you go there" she said in a weary voice.   
"Madam Pomfrey, are you all right?" Hermione asked somberly   
"Please dear, just go" she said, not looking at Hermione. Hermione nodded and left the room with Harry. As they walked down the hall they could hear the woman's sobs. Hermione shoved her hands in the pockets of her trench coat again and felt the knife.   
"Give me it Hermione" Harry said, looking at her covered hand  
"Give you what?" she asked innocently  
"The knife, I want it" The pair stopped walking and just looked at each other for a few moments, trying to stare each other down.  
"Now, Hermione" Harry demanded, sounding a lot like a parent or older brother.  
"How did you-"   
"How did I know? I was trained to protect wizards, that includes knowing when someone is hiding a weapon, I knew you had it the whole time" he looked at her with a slight smirk. She took it out of her pocket and gave it to him.   
The pair made their way, in silence, to the great hall. Professor McGonagall sat with some of the teachers that Harry and Hermione had once known including: Professors Snape, Lupin, Trelawney, Flitwick and Sinistra. There were others that the two didn't recognize.   
"You're going to let him in here after all his relatives have done to our kind?" asked a cruel voice while pointing at Harry.  
"If Voldemort himself walked through those doors, I'd welcome him. Unless the few of us that have survived do not stand united, then there is no hope for any of us. It is not Harry's fault for the actions of his relatives, Draco" scolded Professor McGonagall. Many flinched at the name Voldemort and were appalled at her bold statement. Hermione noticed that Harry was receiving both kind and venomous glances from the people in the room. Inadvertently, she glanced up at the ceiling. Now that she looked at it, she realized she hardly remembered the beauty of it. The stars glistened brightly in the sea of midnight blue. Hermione hadn't felt so at home in a long time. She then glanced around the room. There were few faces that were familiar to her, though one stood out amongst the others. A young woman of twenty or so, looking very pale under loads of freckles with short, fiery red hair, seemingly staring into oblivion. It was Ginny Weasley. She turned her head to see what all the commotion was about. Her and Hermione's eyes met and Ginny smiled a sad smile at her. She then stood up and walked over to Hermione, stopping within two feet of her. They stood there for a minute or so when Ginny began to hysterically cry and threw her arms around Hermione.   
"Shh, its all right Ginny, it'll be all right" Hermione comforted, though she two had tears spilling down her cheeks and onto Ginny's green blouse. Ginny pulled away from Hermione.  
"It'll never be all right Hermione, it will get better, but the scars will never heal" Ginny said sagely   
"I know" Hermione whispered. Ginny then turned to Harry and hugged him too, still crying.   
"Welcome home everyone," McGonagall began "for here I guarantee your safety, but you must earn your keep. Professor Dumbledore and I have worked long hard hours to try to gather as many of the living wizards in the UK as possible here, as numerous other countries have been doing. We are here to rebuild our world, brick by brick we should be able to save our world from complete and utter destruction, but we must work together. I ask those of you who have fought endlessly in the past to now work together for a much greater cause," she gave a pointed look at Harry and Draco "Dumbledore has requested to see each of you, please wait until I call your name, then you can follow me to his office, Ms. Abbot, please follow me"   
At the end of the speech, 'Ms. Abbot' followed McGonagall out of the room. Harry turned to say something to Hermione only to find Draco Malfoy in her place. Though he kept his poised manner, the seemed much less collected than he had in their days at Hogwarts. He was still easily recognizable as the boy Harry had known in school, Draco still had platinum blonde hair, pale skin the color of the moon and was very well dressed. He and Harry were roughly the same height, though Draco was more muscular than Harry. When they looked at each other Draco extended a hand towards Harry. He took Draco's hand, they were now on the same side.  
"This isn't easy for me you know" Draco said nastily   
"Trust me Malfoy, I know"   
"My parents were murdered by you're family's followers, you'd think you could be a little kinder. But then, you've always detested my father, so, I hope you're happy. He suffered a fate you believed he deserved" Draco said, never wavering.   
"I'm sorry to hear that. If I could have prevented it, I would have. No person of our world deserved to suffer the fate that they received"   
"This doesn't mean that I like you Potter"   
"I never said that I liked you either Malfoy"   
"Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ginny, please, follow me" Professor McGonagall said, surprising both Harry and Draco.   
"Ok, Professor" the four said together. Heads bowed, they followed their ex-professor to a room, where Dumbledore lie in a bed, looking as old as ever.  
"Welcome my children, welcome" he said, his eyes still twinkling after so many years and hard times.   
  
A/N: I hope you are enjoying my story so far! For those of you who asked about the Weasleys, well, Ginny is still around, to find out about the others, you'll have to tune in for the next installment. Anyway, one line of this story is from "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" I changed it a little, but it is still recognizable, pretty gold stars for the people who find it and write what it is in the review. I need a name for a character that will appear in the next chapter, so if you get the line right, I'll use your name!! J Please review even if you don't know! Reviews make me write faster! Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last two parts!   
  



	4. Chapter 03- Love You Always

  
  
Chapter Three: Love you Always  
  
"Professor Dumbledore! Are you all right?" Hermione squealed.   
"I am now that you have returned," he replied, smiling weakly at them "I need you each to go into that room over there," he pointed at a large door "a woman named Megara Tianola will meet you and speak with you"   
"Megara Tianola? But she's a-a divinator! Why do we have to speak to one of them" Hermione exclaimed   
"Though I know how much you dislike Divination and everything to do with it, Miss. Granger, I ask you to do this for me, she's been known to predict correctly" Dumbledore said, a little stricter than normal  
"All right" she whispered  
"Would you like to go first Mr. Malfoy?" he asked  
Draco nodded and headed into the room.   
"Gin- what happened to your brothers and parents?" Harry blurted out. Ginny looked at him with sad eyes.  
"Sorry to be so- blunt, if you don't want to talk about it that's all right"   
"No, I might as well tell you. Its either sooner or later. Well, at the beginning of the war, Fred, George, Ron and I went to go live with Bill in Egypt because he had written a letter saying it was safer there than in Europe. Percy, Mum and Dad were going to go collect Charlie in Romania, then meet us at Bill's. After about two weeks we got a letter from Mum that they would be leaving Romania the next day and should be in Egypt within the week. Well, a week passed, and then two weeks passed, then at the end of the third week, we got a black bordered letter telling us Mum, Dad, Percy and Charlie were killed while trying to cross the border into Bulgaria. When we got the letter Ron just said 'I have to go' and then just packed his bags and left, without another word. I haven't heard from him since. Towards the end of the war, Bill got very sick. Since there was nowhere to take him, Fred and George tried to take care of him. When the war ended I decided to come back to England, to see what was left of it. Fred and George decided to stay in Egypt and care for Bill. About three months ago I got a letter from Fred saying that Bill died in his sleep one night. Fred and George are still in Egypt, they have jobs and like it better there. George once told me that they felt England brought back too many sad memories for them. So, now my family has been left with myself, Fred, George and maybe Ron, but that's doubtful, oh yeah, I have you two as well, you are practically a part of my family " she concluded, sounding very brave throughout the story. Little did everyone know that inside her heart was breaking all over again. Harry sank into a chair at the side of the room, burying his head in his hands.   
At this point, Draco walked out of the room, looking a bit paler than normal.  
"She wanted to see 'the young beauty with hair of fire,' I suppose you'll have to do Weasley" Draco spat, but with an icy glare from McGonagall he added  
"Sorry, force of habit"   
"That's quite OK, I never cared much for your opinion to begin with, why should I care now?" Ginny said while drawing the door closed behind her. Hermione knelt down on the floor before Harry.   
"Are you all right?" she asked somberly  
"I'm a curse" he whispered  
"What was that?"   
"I'm a curse. When I was a baby my parents died, and now, I've lost the only parents I ever had growing up. I'm a curse to everyone I love and loves me"   
"That's not true" Hermione comforted  
"How can you say that?"  
"Well, I know you love and care about Ginny, she's alive, you haven't been a curse on her"   
"Well, if her parents hadn't known me, maybe they wouldn't be dead and maybe she wouldn't have to have gone through so much pain"  
"Don't be ridiculous. What about me Harry, how have you been a curse on me?"   
"Apparently, you're day hasn't come yet. For the first time I wish I didn't love or care about you Hermione"   
"If what you are saying is true, that you are a curse on everyone you love and loves you, then even if you stop caring about me, I'd still be cursed, because I will never stop loving or caring about you Harry Potter. Never." Hermione assured.   
"Then I apologize ahead of time for whatever harm my curse brings to you" he said then knelt down on the floor next to Hermione and gave her a hug. When this was all said and done McGonagall and Dumbledore exchanged approving glances.   
"Harry- she wants you to go in now" Ginny said, coming out of the room, looking pale under loads of freckles and obviously shaking.  
"All right, I'll be there in a minute," he said, letting go of Hermione "don't worry, I'll be fine. I don't think I'm cursed anymore" he said. He stood up and walked into the room. Taking one last look at his best friend, he closed the door behind him.   
Hermione, still on the floor, looked down at herself. She was still wearing the short red dress and heels with the trench coat covering her arms and shoulders. It was her very best outfit. When you live in fear with absolutely nothing, even your best isn't that great. She thought about a lot of things at that moment, but mainly where she would be if she hadn't found Harry earlier that night. Again, Harry Potter had been a hero, though this time it wouldn't benefit the lives of every wizard in the world. She smiled at the thought of her own private hero, it sounded like something out of her childhood dreams. But, she wasn't a child anymore, she hadn't been a child since the war began. She'd seen and been exposed to too many things to ever be innocent like a child again. A voice interrupted her thoughts.  
"How have you been Hermione?" Draco asked her softly.   
"Do you care?" she asked, wondering why a Malfoy would lower himself to talk to a 'mudblood' like her  
"Yes, I do, how have you been?"   
"I've been better, way better to be correct, and yourself?"  
"Though I know you don't care, pretty much the same. Life has been chaos since our graduation"   
She was about to agree with him but, at that moment, Harry walked out of the door, looking a bit sickly. Hermione was now scared of what the mysterious woman behind the door would say to her that would make her look as terrified as those who went before her.   
"Hermione-" Harry started  
"I know, I'm next right?" she smiled.   
"Right as always"  
Shaking, she stood up and crossed the room to where the door was, partially open. Opening it up enough so she could fit through it, she walked into a poorly lit room. One candle was lit, it revealed the face of Megara Tianola, formally known as Lavender Brown.  
"Lav? Oh Lavender! How wonderful to see you!"  
"My name is not Lavender, Its Megara, I never knew anyone with a horrid name like Lavender" she said. Hermione rolled her eyes  
"Whatever you say"   
"I was brought here to look at your mark, and draw certain conclusions from it. Now may I please see it?" she explained  
"What mark?" Hermione asked innocently  
"You know, for someone who was quite smart in school, you've become quite daft! What mark you think I mean? The one on your left leg!" 'Megara' exclaimed  
"So you admit that you went to school with me? I never went to school with a girl named Megara"   
"OK Hermione, I admit it. Happy? Now may we please get this over with? Harry and Draco had no problem taking off their pants to show me their mark"   
Again, Hermione rolled her eyes. Nothing a divinator was going to say was going to scare or hurt her. Hermione sat down next to Megara/Lavender and pulled the dress up a few inches, exposing a large black mark on her leg.   
"Its a bird," Megara said "a black one. It represents a lot. It shows a sharp mind. You are dependable, but there are many times when you just have to escape, and you do. That is you're weakest trait, you flee when people need you most, but not all the time. You can be absent minded, but you will always want to learn more and more, and believe that you never stop learning"   
Surprisingly enough, she had pegged Hermione pretty well. She didn't think that she left people when they needed her most though. There were only two instances when she "flew away" from people and their problems. Once, when she was seventeen, she dumped her boyfriend Ron (whom she believed even to date that she had loved) because she couldn't deal with all of his problems and her own too, and she had left her parents. She couldn't deal with their disappointment in her anymore. She couldn't stand hearing about how she ought to be a dentist instead of a witch, how she never listened to them. She never wanted to disappoint them, but it was just one of those things that she had to do. Practicing magic was like breathing to her.   
"Thank you, Megara" Hermione said and stood up to leave. Just before she turned the doorknob, Hermione heard a groan behind her. Megara's eyes were rolling and she looked awfully rigid in her chair. Megara Tianola was making a real prediction.   
  
A/N: Hope you're Enjoying my story so far! Please review, even if you hated it!! Please? Pretty Please? With sugar on top? Anyway, I think everyone should yell out a big "Yay" for Megan T, who got the line right in the previous chapter, * ~~ there is your pretty gold (ok, so its black) star 


	5. Chapter 04- Paths

This chapter is dedicated to Keith Frasier who managed to use the words harrowing and derriere in the same review : )   
  
Chapter Four: Paths  
  
"From four different walks of life  
Though different at first glance  
At second seem alike  
One gold paved, one practical, one famous, one not so kind  
Now will intertwine  
They form a path so intricate, so strong  
Not even supreme evil could overtake them all  
They shall come to understand  
They shared a past together  
Four are bounded together now  
North, South, East, West  
When four paths become one  
The world may begin or  
The world may end  
The choice is in their hands  
Four different paths chose not their direction in the past  
But now will choose a destiny" Megara muttered in a deep voice so unlike her own while moaning, eyes rolling and twitching in her chair. When it all ended Megara looked up at Hermione with tired and unfocused eyes.  
"Hermione-" she croaked, then fell to the floor, unconscious. Hermione stood frozen, mouth open, during the entire prediction. When Megara fainted, Hermione did the only thing she thought she was capable of at that moment. She screamed at the top of her lungs. The door burst open, hitting Hermione and knocking her to the ground  
"Are you OK? What happened? Oh my god! What happened to Megara?" Draco asked, helping Hermione up. Harry stood behind Draco, with a concerned look on his face.  
"She- she- she-" was all Hermione could stammer, that voice had chilled her.   
"Calm down Hermione. Breathe." Harry said calmly  
"Her voice, it got so deep, then she got all rigid, and her eyes!" Hermione said, still fearful  
"She made a prediction?" Dumbledore's voice asked in the adjacent room  
"I suppose" Hermione whispered. Draco lifted Megara's small form easily off the ground  
"I'm going to take her to the hospital wing" he explained and left the room, carrying Megara over his shoulder.   
"Harry, Ginny, why don't you go with him? Then you can take him to the Gryffindor dormitory, where you four and a few others have been assigned to stay" Dumbledore said. Ginny and Harry nodded.   
"You'll be OK?" Harry asked Hermione  
"Yes" she answered quietly.   
After making sure his best friend would be all right, Harry left with Ginny to go find Draco who was hauling an unconscious woman around the school.   
"Hermione, I need you to tell me what she said, as much as you remember" Dumbledore said  
"Can't it wait until tomorrow? I'd really like to get some rest, its been a long night" she pleaded  
"I'm sorry Hermione, it's clearer in your mind now. I need to know what the prediction was" he said, not without sympathy   
"Something about four paths, different and yet the same, sharing a same path in the past and sharing a common future. How the fate of the world is in their hands to decide" she said, not really remembering exact words.   
"That sounds like the Prediction of the Ambiguous Fate, does it not Professor?" Dumbledore asked  
"I don't follow divination enough to really know" she answered sounding a little bitter when saying 'Divination'   
"Thank you Miss. Granger. You can go get some sleep now" Dumbledore said, dismissing a grateful Hermione.  
Hermione walked through the familiar halls of her old school. She tried to remember how she felt when she was a student there. There were so many happy memories there, why couldn't she remember what it was like to feel that way again? The closest she'd come to being happy again was a chance meeting with Harry and coming back to Hogwarts. Hermione stopped walking and turned to walk in another direction. The smell, the look, everything was the same in one part of the castle. The library. Hermione smiled, remembering how much time was spent in this one room. She closed her eyes, seeing herself as an eleven year old again, just trying to prove herself in a world where some considered her dirt and unworthy of attending Hogwarts. She remembered finding out about the basilisk and having Viktor Krum ask her to go to the Yule Ball. So many things in her past took place in this very room.  
"I was wondering if I'd meet you here tonight"   
Startled, Hermione gasped, quite loudly  
"Good lord Draco, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she asked catching her breath.   
"No, I didn't mean to scare you"  
"You could have fooled me" she muttered, knowing he would hear her perfectly in the empty room  
"Why must you insist on thinking I'm horrible"  
"Give me one good reason why I should think otherwise Draco"   
"I know I've said and done horrid things to you in the past, but you heard McGonagall, we have to put stuff like that behind us. I thought if anyone here would allow me to redeem myself, it would be you. But I suppose I was wrong, good night Hermione" Draco said, his fingers pulled tightly into a fist, turning on his heels and walking out of the library.  
"Wait!" Hermione cried  
"Why should I?" he asked, continuing down the hallway, not turning back to look at her. Hermione shakily sat down in a chair. "Not even back at Hogwarts for a day, and I'm already fighting" she thought. She crossed her legs and brought her hand to her forehead. She sat there a long time before deciding to get up to go to bed. She would be useless the next morning if she were exhausted and irritable.  
  
***  
  
A man woke up to find himself lying on cold, damp ground. He was barely alive, taking in deep and heavy breaths. It was savagely cold. He forced his eyes to open slightly. He could see his breath, white as snow. There was someone standing over him, watching him.  
"Wh- Where am I?" the man asked weakly   
"You'll find out soon enough, my young friend" the watcher told him in a voice that made the man's stomach drop.  
"Who are you?"   
"Just an old friend, one might say" the watcher said and grinned slightly as he walked away   
"Who- Who am I?" asked the man through heavy breaths. At the end of his question, the man passed out  
The watcher smiled, everything was going according to plan, and nothing would stop him this time.   
  
A/N: I know this chapter is a little shorter than the earlier ones, but I've had some problems at home that prevented me from working on it. I hope that quality and quantity aren't the same thing here. I invite you to guess who the 2 mystery people are at the end, I know who they are already : ) 


	6. Chapter 05- A New Life

Chapter Five: A New Life  
  
Harry couldn't sleep. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in months, what difference would one more night make? He stood up and angrily looked over at Malfoy, sleeping peacefully in the bed adjacent to Harry's. Stealthily he walked down to the girl's dormitory where Hermione was staying. She, like Malfoy, was sleeping. She looked angelic, so peaceful, so relaxed. He smiled looking down at her things which were locked magically. Curious as to why she had locked her few belongings up, he took her wand (which she had left lying on the night stand) and unlocked it. Inside were a few dresses and robes, but one thing stood out to him. A leather bound journal. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the faded gold letters that read 'Hermione Granger.' He had given the book to her upon their graduation from Hogwarts. It had cost him 20 galleons, he had paid 5 extra galleons to have her name put on it. He opened the book to the first page were he had written a letter to her before giving it. He contemplated tearing that letter out before he gave it to her, thinking it was stupid, but he had left it in there and she had cried upon reading it. He remembered that she had hugged him tighter than she ever had and whispered "that is the most wonderful present I have ever gotten" in his ear, which made it worth every galleon. Inquisitive, he turned the page again to see her neat handwriting. He read some of her entries, to discover she had dated Justin Finch-Fletchley for some time as well as a few other things. But before he could find out to much he heard a soft voice say  
"Curiosity killed the cat you know"   
Startled, Harry looked up to see Hermione smiling at him  
"I-I-I-um- sorry?" he offered  
"I would have told you all that's written in there, if you had asked me"   
"How long have you been sitting there?" he asked.   
"Since you opened my bag"  
"Why didn't you stop me?"   
"Because, like I said, I would gladly tell you most that's written in there, if you asked me" she explained  
"Ok, so, why don't you tell me?" he asked, grinning   
"Only if you promise to tell me some juicy things" she said in all seriousness, but smiling  
"I promise" he said making a cross with his fingers over his heart  
"Come sit up here, with me" she offered, moving over so he would have room. He stood up, pulled the covers over him and lay next to her, their faces less than a foot apart.   
"Ok, where did you leave off?" she asked  
"You were dating Justin Finch-Fletchley. Why did you date Justin?" he asked, raising his eyebrows  
"We were partners at work and one day he asked me to have dinner with him. I felt bad and didn't want to say no, so that night we went to a muggle restaurant. I actually has a splendid time, he was so nice, and a great dancer. Anyway, we went out for about a year when he asked me to marry him, and I said no. He said that he couldn't be with me anymore if I didn't love him enough to spend the rest of my life with him, so ended that relationship. Your turn." She told him.  
"Ok, I suppose I'll tell you about dating Padma Patil. She wasn't at all like Parvati. She wasn't into divination, she never even took it at Hogwarts. We met at Three Broomsticks one night when the Weird Sisters were performing there. She sat next to me, we started talking and eventually I asked her if she wanted to go out sometime. Our relationship lasted for two years, she had even moved in with me by the time we broke up"  
"What happened?" Hermione asked  
"I found out she had been cheating on me for six months with Roger Davies"   
"Ouch" she said  
"Yeah, big ouch" Harry said, then launching into a story about how Pansy Parkinson had asked him out one day and the one date he had with her.   
"- so obviously, I couldn't see her again. Your turn" he looked at Hermione at the end of the story, only to find her sleeping. He smiled, kissed her forehead, turned over, and finally, Harry Potter fell fast asleep. Little did Harry and Hermione know how their peaceful sleep would be disturbed.   
"Oh my!" a voice yelled, making Hermione sit straight up. Sunlight was seeping in through a crack in the drapes. She felt something in the bed only to find Harry, sleeping. Hermione looked up to see Professor McGonagall looking back and forth at Harry and Hermione in utter horror. For one wild second Hermione thought "Oh no! I'll get detention for this!"  
"Professor! Its not what it looks like! I swear! Harry! Wake up!" Hermione exclaimed talking quickly  
Harry sat up, stretched, put on his glasses and for the first time saw McGonagall in the doorway, he quickly got out of the bed and stood up   
"Professor McGonagall! We-We didn't- didn't do anything- if that's what your thinking" Harry said blushing four different colors red.  
"No, no, you two are- responsible- adults, I don't expect an explanation, really. Just thought I'd tell you that you should come down, you're missing breakfast" she said in a nervous and uncomfortable voice. She left the room, shaking her head.  
"Oh Harry! How embarrassing!," she cried, twisting her hands in her lap and turning bright red "that's like having my mother come in to find us in bed together! Now she'll think we're- we're together"   
"Yeah, I agree. I'm going to go get dressed, see you at breakfast" Harry said awkwardly and went to his room  
Once he had left, Hermione changed into a set of green robes. She picked up the leather bound journal, which lie forgotten on the floor. She sat back onto the bed and read Harry's letter to herself, though she had read it so many times she had it practically memorized. She remember crying so hard when she had read it the first time, and how she'd hugged Harry and told him that it was the best present she had ever gotten. That still held true. It was the most wonderful thing anyone had ever given in her. The thing that truly made it special was that letter. She marveled at how something so simple could mean so much to her. Standing up, she walked into the great hall and sat next to Harry to eat some breakfast. She looked around the room and just smiled. A smile that was genuine and so much like how she had smiled as an eleven year old.   
"Why are you so happy?" Harry asked her, looking up from his eggs  
"Its a new day Harry, a new life, a new time, that's enough to please even those who have been hurt so deeply they thought they'd never recover" she said simply.   
"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you once again to this castle, where you went to school. Hogwarts. Today we begin to repair and become once again, what we once were. Though the wound will never fully heal, we can try to make it so that it will leave but a scar. Today, we begin to rebuild our government, the Ministry of Magic. The first order of business is to elect a new minister. Any nominations?" McGonagall asked, not looking at Harry or Hermione during her speech  
"I do," Draco said, standing up "I would like to nominate Harry Potter"   
  
***  
The man awoke from his unconsciousness sleep once again. He had an itch on his nose, but when he went to scratch it, realized that his arms were chained to two different trees. He made many fruitless attempts to pull himself free. A man laughed, he was standing before a large fire, warming his hands.  
" I was wondering when you'd wake up" he stated  
"Who are you? Where are we? Who am I? What do you want with me?" the man asked, still pulling at the chains  
"Now, are you in a position to be demanding answers from me? You are a man, as am I, we are in a forest and what I want will be shortly revealed" he offered  
"Well, I know it can't be good if you've chained me and you won't tell me anything"   
"How observant of you, go back to sleep" he said without feeling and turned back to face the fire.  
The man spent a long time pulling at the chains. By the time he stopped, his wrists were bloody and he thought he might be able to see a bone.   
  
A/N: As always, I hope you enjoyed this installment. I would have had it out before Thanksgiving, but I was sick, and therefore didn't feel like thinking enough to write. I hope you all had a good holiday! A special apology to Keith FRASER cause I spelled his name wrong. Please review! You know I love to read them..   
~Katie "You know you wanna dance" Witnick  
(An A+ for anyone who can tell me where that's from :) 


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